History of public library advocacy
Public libraries in the American Colonies can be traced back to 1656, when a Boston merchant named Captain Robert Keayne willed his collection of books to the town.
[1] Church collections of books used by the public served as early versions of libraries in New England around the 18th century.
One such example is the Kings Chapel Library in Boston, which was founded in 1698 with book donations from the Bishop of London.
In the 1600s, British colonists brought their love of books to America, with the deceased often leaving their collections to the public.
For example, Robert Keayne left his collection to his community, Boston Town Hall, which was considered a "subscription" or "society" library.
[5] In 1841 in Boston, French ventriloquist and philanthropist Alexandre Vattemare promoted the development of a public library.
[7] Women's organizations were instrumental in advocating for the importance of public libraries and shaping their role in the community.
Since revenue from property taxes and federal funding alone do not support public libraries, advocates seek new ways for obtaining money, such as through private donations from library advocates like Andrew Carnegie, whose vast donations set precedent for the vital participation of future philanthropists.
The Boston Public Library opened in 1854 thanks to the efforts of Edward Everett and George Ticknor, local leading figures who wrote the Report in 1852.
New Hampshire then founded the first completely tax-supported local public library in the United States under the model of "open to all and free of charge".
New York made the decision to open libraries to the public, supported by tax money raised by the local school districts.
[9] For three days, the men discussed issues critical to the institutions, such as cataloging, collection development, and communication.
Benefactors also played a large role in advocating for public libraries by providing money for construction.
In 1904, Mrs. Charles A. Perkins wrote, in the Federation Bulletin (the official organ of the GFWC), that "clubs had established 474 free public libraries.
Clubwomen would also raise money by utilizing their own skills through bake sales, entertainments, and other small-scale fund-raising events.
Utley, stated that "fully one half the libraries in the country had been established through the influence of American women.
"[14] The plan advocated for equalization of financial support, pointing out the inequalities among states in per capita spending for public libraries.
The history of this effort is highlighted in James Healey's monograph: John E. Fogarty: Political Leadership for Library Development.
[17] Congressman Fogerty was impressed by the pioneer work of Rhode Island state librarian, Elizabeth Myer, and went on to champion extension of library service.
[20] In the 1970s and 1980s, public libraries began to understand the importance of working with American youth to promote education.
According to Shirley A. Fitzgibbons, "More public libraries began to offer programs and services for preschoolers at younger ages, including toddlers and babies along with parents and caretakers, in recognition of this educational role to facilitate language and literacy development of the young child.
[25] March 13, 1991 – around sixty librarians and trustees got together to find ways to be able to get more funding for libraries "from the state and municipalities and to press for country aid.
This competition of baseball trivia is to being awareness to "the 21st Century literacy skills such as using computers and other media and knowing how to find evaluate and use information.
"[29] (PR Newswire) Also this game hopefully challenges the participants to get more familiar with the library by answering different kinds of baseball questions.
"[30] (David Chartier) This extra money that these businesses get from the Gates Foundation will help out tremendously with the huge increase in patrons using the libraries use of free internet access.
ALTAFF continues to fight for library and user rights, tackling such issues as youth access to internet content and censorship, such as with the sponsorship of Banned Book Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read.
In 2010, schools, filmmakers, and others are able to get the technology that they need to be able to help the people that are deaf or visually impaired and others to be able to see or hear movies, books or other materials.
